Why Did Acura Discontinue The Legend?

Since the invention of automobiles, virtually every major manufacturer has tried its hand in the luxury car arena. By the late 1980s, even typically price-conscious Japanese automakers were looking to stake a claim in the luxury car market, with Honda throwing its hat in the ring in 1986 through its newly-acquired subsidiary Acura.

The Acura vehicle that earned the luxury label was the appropriately named Legend, which made its street debut alongside another popular model, the hatchback Integra. As for the Legend, it hit the road a foot longer than even a contemporary Honda Accord, making it the largest vehicle in the manufacturer's stable from the era. More impressively, the Acura Legend debuted with a V6 engine under the hood (a first for any Honda automobile) and offered the option of a 5-speed manual transmission, which was all but unheard of in the late-80s luxury arena.   

Combined with a slickly designed interior that toed the line between the practical and the opulent, the Legend quickly became a hit with drivers who prized a touch of sportiness in their luxury ride. It remained a popular model until 1995, when increasingly fierce competition in the luxury market led Acura to put it out to pasture. Thus, the Legend was never one of the many Acura models manufactured in the USA since the mid-90s.

[Featured image by Ominae via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0]

The Legend put the company on the map in the high-end luxury car world, with the 2-door Legend coupe, which Acura unveiled in 1987, even earning Car of the Year honors from MotorTrend. Accolades aside, when Acura rolled out the 2nd Gen Legend in 1991, the design team leaned further into luxury, going bigger and sleeker with the vehicle's interiors and exteriors, while also beefing things up under the hood.

By the early '90s, however, the Legend faced more competition, as Nissan and Toyota each made a splash in the luxury market with vehicles from their high-end subsidiaries Infinity and Lexus, respectively. Though the 2nd Gen Legends arrived with some upgrades, they still lagged behind those competitors in power and sheer opulence.

While Acura tried to keep pace with regular upgrades to the 2nd Gen Legend, Lexus and Infiniti continued to lap the vehicle in style, power, and luxury. By 1995, the writing was on the wall for the Legend and Acura ultimately decided to pull the plug on the model altogether. The Legend was replaced in 1996 with the Acura RL, which the company continued making until 2020, along with some significantly speedier models. Though the Legend has now been gone longer than it ever was in production, it remains a standout among Acura's, ahem, legendary lineup of luxury automobiles. 

[Featured image by Thomas Bettinger via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0]